— Movers & Shakers —
Queen Liliuokalani Trust names executive assistant
Rhondalee “Kehau” Harrison has joined Queen Liliuokalani Trust as executive assistant at its Kailua-Kona office, according to Laura Dierenfield, 360 degree manager for the trust in Kona.
Originally from Holualoa, Harrison will support the trust’s land planning and entitlement team and assist with the management of the trust’s developed property portfolio in Kona.
Previously, Harrison worked at Bank of Hawaii in Kailua-Kona as its wealth administrator in private client services and earlier in Honolulu as an accounting specialist. She is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Hilo, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a management concentration.
Kealakekua Ranch names chief operating officer
Rhonda Kavanagh has been appointed chief operating officer of Kealakekua Ranch Ltd.
Diane Quitiquit, who has been serving temporarily in that position, will continue on a part-time basis through the end of January to help with the transition.
Prior to joining Kealakekua Ranch, Kavanagh led strategic growth, sales and service operations at an independent advisory firm serving a nationwide client base with assets under advisement of nearly $3 billion. She also spent 12 years at Fiserv Inc. where she held various executive roles and led successful growth initiatives generating more than $150 million in annual revenues. Most recently, she served as executive vice president for an independent advisory firm where she led strategic growth initiatives for Hawaii.
Kealakekua Ranch Ltd. is a locally owned company that began in 1880 when Henry Nicholas Greenwell purchased the Kealakekua ranch lands. Today, under the guidance of fourth generation Meg and Nick Greenwell and a board of directors, the ranch includes Kealakekua Ranch Center, ChoiceMART Supermarket and 218 acres of leased agricultural and residential lands.
Dorrance joins Kokolulu board
Delphina Dorrance is Kokolulu Farm and Cancer Retreats’ newest board member.
Dorrance is involved in the development of educational, artistic and cultural programs on Hawaii Island. She is vice president and a board member of Heartwood Institute, an educational residential holistic healing community in Northern California; a board member of Ohana Homeschool Cooperative, a nature and Waldorf-inspired experience for 2- to 6-year-olds in North Kohala; and co-founder of Perspectives, an educational enrichment association for North Kohala.
She is also the co-founder and co-owner of the Blue Dragon Restaurant in Kawaihae, founder of Blue Dragon Bodywork, co-director of Touching The Earth, and owner and founder of Kohala Wishing Well farm.
She serves on the board of Dorrance Family Enterprises and the Dorrance Family Foundation. She has a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College.
Tax Foundation of Hawaii chooses interim president
Tom Yamachika was named interim president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii at a special board of directors meeting Jan. 16. Lowell Kalapa, the president and longtime voice of the foundation, died in December.
Yamachika is a tax attorney active in the Hawaii state tax community. He has worked in the state Tax Department, as well as in private practice, including several years with PricewaterhouseCoopers. He currently has his own state tax consulting firm, Aloha State Tax.
Yamachika will begin working with foundation staff immediately to identify and prepare testimony on tax bills introduced in the current state Legislature.
The Tax Foundation of Hawaii is a private, nonprofit educational organization dedicated to informing the public about the finances of state and local governments in Hawaii. For more information, visit tfhawaii.org.
HGEA promotes Zeghmi to HR manager
The Hawaii Government Employees Association recently promoted Julia Zeghmi to human resources manager. Zeghmi is responsible for overseeing the human resources department, including recruitment, benefits administration and employee and labor relations.
Zeghmi was previously HGEA’s human resources specialist. Prior to joining HGEA, she was a human resources specialist at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and has also held human resources positions in the travel industry.
Zeghmi holds a bachelor of business administration degree in human resources management from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
— Milestones —
KapohoKine Adventures celebrates 10 years
KapohoKine Adventures is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2014 by doubling the size of its outfitter store and announcing technical upgrades to its Zipline Through Paradise experience. The company refurbished part of the historic Canario Building next to the Palace Theatre in Hilo where it operates an outfitter space twice the size of its original location. The store carries gear from brands including Patagonia, GoPro and Smith Optics. For more information, visit kapohokine.com.
Kona coffee expo and trade show is Friday
Kona Coffee Farmers Association Expo and Trade Show features more vendors than ever and workshops for coffee farmers from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at Old Kona Airport Park’s Makaeo Events Pavilion. Admission is free.
Four forums with question-and-answer panels are scheduled. From 11 a.m. to noon, “What’s Bugging My Coffee?” will feature a panel of experts including Andrea Kawabata, Rob Curtiss, Bob Smith and Tom Greenwell. A workshop on processing and storing coffee will be held from 12:30 to 12:55 p.m. A roasting and coffee packaging workshop will be held from 1 to 1:25 p.m. with Ken Sheppard on fluid bed roasters and Pacific Bags on packaging. From 1:30 to 1:55 p.m. will be “Marketing My Coffee Outside the Box,” with Lee Paterson.
Scott Enright, Hawaii Department of Agriculture appointee, will speak at 2 p.m. and Lisa Keith from Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center will be the keynote speaker at 2:30 p.m.
For more information, visit konacoffeefarmers.org.
Kohala Zipline starts shuttle service
Kohala Zipline has begun a twice daily shuttle between all major resorts and hotels on the Kona and Kohala coasts and its tour site Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Guests can choose from an early departure for an 8:30 a.m. tour start time or a late departure for a 1 p.m. tour. Lunch is included in the shuttle.
For more information, visit kohalazipline.com or call 800-464-1993.
Ocean Sports launches Star Card program
Ocean Sports has launched a new Star Card beach program. Purchase an 8-, 16- or 30-star card and redeem the stars for beach toy rentals, excursions and more at any Ocean Sports beach location including Anaehoomalu Bay, Hilton Waikoloa Village lagoon and Kaunaoa Beach at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. The cards never expire. They are transferable and easy to use. For more information, call 886-6666 or visit hawaiioceansports.com.
Pacific Boats & Yachts offers custom-built, rigid inflatable boats
After an exhaustive search for a company that could deliver custom-built rigid inflatable boats that live up to the rigors of daily professional use in Hawaiian waters, Pacific Boats & Yachts at Honokohau Harbor has chosen to sell watercraft made by Ocean Craft Marine.
The company manufactures U.S. Coast Guard-certified rigid inflatable work boats. The company manufactures the entire vessel, so every aspect of the boat may be customized.
Ocean Craft Marine has proven its performance and reliability in military, commercial and recreational applications around the world.
By local sources